Template-free chemical deposition of highly crystalline ZnO nanorod thin films

Abstract

A template-free solvothermal method in a mixed solvent system was employed to produce ZnO nanorods in powder and thin-film forms at temperatures as low as 90 °C. A thin seed layer of ZnO nanoparticles drop-cast on Si substrates was used in some experiments to investigate the role of the seed layer in controlling the structural properties of ZnO nanorods. The structural and the morphological properties of the as-synthesized ZnO nanorods were characterized using a multitude of tools such as an X-ray diffractometer (XRD), a transmission electron microscope (TEM), a scanning electron microscope (SEM), an energy dispersive X-ray spectrometer (EDS) and a Raman spectrometer. Optical absorption and fluorescence measurements were performed to understand the absorption and emission characteristics. The results confirm that the synthesized ZnO nanorods are highly uniform in terms of crystal structure, purity, uniformity in morphology, and stoichiometry in composition.